TAMPA - A week after he was ordered to shut down an illegal trailer park on his property in Seminole Heights, William "Hoe" Brown got another message from city officials regarding a building on the same property where he has an office and five apartments.
On July 16, Brown was ordered to restore the 1928 one-story stucco bungalow to its original status as a single-family home or go through the potentially lengthy and expensive process of making the property a legal work-live venue allowed in the existing commercial zoning.
Brown's J.B. Carrie Properties Inc. has its office in the building, which also has houses several apartments inside and two in an addition on the back. One of those is where a woman was found dead from a drug overdose in March.
Brown's spokeswoman Beth Leytham referred to Brown's statement from July 11 regarding his plans for the property.

That statement said Brown planned to "pursue any necessary permits, licenses, approvals, and inspections that will ensure that the office and apartments are in full compliance with all code requirements so that I may begin any necessary renovations as soon as possible."
According to the city, that would require Brown to provide off-street parking - including handicapped parking - and meet buffering requirements relative to neighboring properties. It might also include updating the details of the building with the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's Office, which still reports the structure as a single-family dwelling and doesn't account for the addition on the rear or the enclosed carport.
Those changes, which would go into effect Jan. 1, could raise Brown's tax bill for the property.
Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez revised his estimate of Brown's property value on West Stanley Street after the trailer park came to light. That change will raise Brown's tax bill $250 for this year.
The appraiser's office will wait to see what Brown does to bring his property in line with city codes before re-evaluating it for 2014, said Henriquez's spokesman, Bill Ward.
Until Brown brings the house up to city requirements, he has emptied the building of tenants, Leytham said. The property is posted with "no trespassing" signs.
Brown had placed the trailers on his properties - 102 and 106 W. Stanley - sometime in early 2012, providing the 10 studio apartments with water, sewer and electricity extended from the bungalow's utility connections.
According to code enforcement records, the trailers were ruled "unfit for human habitation" on July 9 and condemned the next day. Brown hauled them away to an unknown location and reimbursed his tenants $1,500 each, or about three months' rent.
kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com
(813) 259-7871
Twitter: @kwiatrowskiTBO